Certain diseases or conditions may be treated, according to modern medical techniques, by delivering a medication fluid or other substance to the body of a patient, either in a continuous manner or at particular times or time intervals within an overall time period. For example, diabetes is commonly treated by delivering defined amounts of insulin to the patient at appropriate times. Some common modes of providing insulin therapy to a patient include delivery of insulin through manually operated syringes and insulin pens. Other modern systems employ programmable fluid infusion devices (e.g., continuous insulin infusion devices such as insulin pumps) to deliver controlled amounts of insulin or other drugs to a patient.
A fluid infusion device suitable for use as an insulin pump may be realized as an external device or an implantable device, which is surgically implanted into the body of the patient. External fluid infusion devices include devices designed for use in a generally stationary location (for example, in a hospital or clinic), and devices configured for ambulatory or portable use (to be carried by a patient). External fluid infusion devices may establish a fluid flow path from a fluid reservoir to the patient via, for example, a suitable hollow tubing. The hollow tubing may be connected to a hollow fluid delivery needle that is designed to pierce the patient's skin to deliver an infusion fluid to the body. Alternatively, the hollow tubing may be connected directly to the patient's body through a cannula or set of micro-needles.
It is desirable to reduce the amount of air bubbles in a medication fluid before delivering the fluid to the patient. Small bubbles may be introduced into the medication fluid during a reservoir filling operation, for example, when the fluid reservoir is filled from a vial using a syringe. Bubbles can also be generated during temperature or altitude changes. Although patients are instructed to eliminate air from a filled reservoir, some micro bubbles may remain.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an assembly, system, or component that is designed to mitigate the effects of air bubbles within a medication fluid flow path. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.